To be clear, for now there isn't any crystal clear evidence around that Lockhart was cancelled. Nor is there any evidence MS is still planning to launch that SKU.
We've all read certain opinion pieces as well as journalists and other industry-related players which statet they've heard "rumors", and that's pretty much it. The latest ones I've read here strongly suggested Lockhart is cancelled, but that might as well be the result of my selective perception...
What I observed is that MS clearly changed their PR standpoint, as you called it, since April. Neither right before nor during E3 did MS refer to Anaconda as being determined to become the - by far - most powerful next console out there. Instead the Head of Microsoft Game Studios literally said "we're also in a world where speed is starting not to matter". Which for all I know indicated there was indeed a change of plan regarding the market proposition of the Anaconda SKU.
What's more, everyone's talking about Anaconda and PS5 devkits and how they compare to each other. Yet there isn't a single one out there talking about Lockhart devkits. Which is kinda odd since Lockhart is supposed to be the baseline for next gen gaming - and how can anyone develop a next gen exclusive game without knowning that baseline hardware (might be possible for all I know, still though!).
I do hope Larkheart is dead and never becomes the baseline for next for next gen gaming.
We'll see more impressive games on Scarlett/Anaconda if that's the only traditional console SKU.
Lockhart would only restrain what developers can do for next gen, and could even hold back 3rd party PS5 games, as well as Anaconda and PC.
Lockhart was a bad idea from the start and I truly hope it never shows up.
That should not however, rule out a very cheap streaming console/device that relies on xCloud. It was rumored that this device helps to reduce latency by having some local compute power.
Since last year, Project Scarlett was rumored to encompass 3 hardware devices with 2 of them being traditional consoles.
Anaconda high-end console
Lockhart low-midrange console
A cheap streaming console/device of some sort that has to be connected to xCloud.
If Microsoft only launches Anaconda as the next Xbox, that's fine.
If Microsoft launches Anaconda and a cheap streaming device that plays the exact same games as Anaconda, that's fine too.